THE PIECES OF LIFE'S PUZZLE

Pt. 1

As I was scrolling down the homepage on one of my social media sites today, I came across one of those group posts which read,

“If we can trust a puzzle company to include every piece of a thousand piece puzzle in a box, then why can’t we trust God to include every piece of the puzzle which is our life?”

And at first glance, that particular adage sounds pretty good, (and in fact, no one can deny it IS good). However, upon reading the foregoing post, it immediately occurred to me, and I immediately responded with something like,

“I can only agree, but sometimes humans have the tendency to add unnecessary pieces they think belong in their lives, and subtract necessary pieces which they think don’t belong.”

Who among us has been an exemption to this rule? Of course, as a believer, I think it helps a great deal to submit to the plan of salvation, and place one’s self securely beneath the throne of grace. However, even Christians can get it diabolically wrong, and can almost irretrievably mess up their lives.

I believe the following verse says it about as well, as any I have run across in my studies.

“For who among men knows the thoughts of a man, except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God.”   (1^st Cor. 2:11-12)

Pt. 2

“So that we may know the things freely given to us by God.”

It seems to me that this last phrase in our passage refers to what we include in our lives, or exclude from our lives, and is all about what the scripture has characterized as embracing “the Mind of Christ.”

Sadly, it seems some unbelievers are quicker, and more adept at snapping that thousand piece puzzle of their lives together, than some believers ever will be. Be that as it may, how do we manage to get it wrong, as often as some of us seem to get it wrong?

Now, I’m not a jigsaw puzzle kinda guy. (No, I’m not). I mean, I have neither the time, nor the patience, (nor the interest) in sitting down with a thousand pieces of colorful cardboard, which have been cut into all sorts of shapes and sizes, and snapping them into a seemingly non-sensical design which some anonymous person developed for the sole purpose of enriching their bank account. However, in the six and a half minutes of my seven decades on this planet that I have devoted to this task, I have learned more about the art of putting jigsaw puzzles together, than I ever wanted to know, or ask.

It can be “slow going,” and in the case of a thousand piece puzzle, we immediately discover that 99.9 percent of pieces were not designed to fit in the space where .1 percent of the pieces fit perfectly. Each and every piece has been custom cut to fit in only one place, so that in the end an image of a mountain and stream, or perhaps Jesus and His disciples appears. (Speaking of the latter example, there is a colorful jigsaw puzzle of Jesus seated with His disciples at the Last Supper hanging in our church fellowship hall; which one of our dearly departed parishioners left to us).

Pt. 3

I think the metaphor or parable, if you will, of a jigsaw puzzle is just about perfect when it comes to discovering God’s will for our lives. And I think the Creator knew, when He made us, that each and every one of us would experience difficulty when it came to snapping those non-symmetrical, colorful pieces of the puzzle together.

God knows, I have taken lots of side tracks which led to nowhere. And God knows, I have wasted a lot of time, as it were, backing up onto the main line, and continuing my forward journey.

Three things come to mind when I think about the failure of any given individual in fitting the pieces of their life’s puzzle together at the proper time, and in the proper manner.

Immaturity

When you think about it, we were all born immature, and were dependent on others to find our way. Sadly, there are those among us, both non-believers, and believers, alike, who live out their entire lives making bad decisions, and who, ultimately, never grow up. How can such a person hope to discover their Creator’s ultimate plan for their life? I mean, I am convinced that there are people among us who wouldn’t walk across a room to retrieve the best, next course of action.

Immaturity causes us to subtract necessary pieces of life’s puzzle which, in many cases, cannot be restored to its overall design.

Sin

As a counselor of twenty-five plus years, it seems to me some of my clients were working hard to remain clueless, and staying in trouble. And some people reach the grand old age of 103, and only regrets fill up the “volume” which they have written, and half the pieces of the puzzle are still scattered on the proverbial table or floor which surrounds them. It has occurred to me that had they put as much effort into doing the right things, and avoiding the wrong things, their lives would have fallen together much differently.

Ravi Zacharias, the well-known Christian apologist, put it this way.

“Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.”

The not so well-known Christian counselor of our time, (yours truly) has put it this way.

“The ultimate cost of sin is always much greater, than the momentary wages it pays when it is occurring.”

Not only so, but sin inhibits our ability to choose, as it were, the right pieces of the puzzle which God designed for our lives, and results in adding unnecessary pieces to its overall design.

The Impact of Other People’s Behavior

The implications of people’s use and abuse of other people within their sphere of influence, particularly the young, mentally-challenged, and elderly, cannot be stressed enough.

However, it is hardly necessary to spend much time or ink on the topic here. We are all familiar with the horror stories involving child and elderly abuse, or simply the presence of significant dysfunction in the childhood home, which contributes to physical, sexual, social, behavioral, spiritual, and psychological issues among people who deserved so much better in life. 

Another instance in which unnecessary, and absolutely horrendous pieces of the puzzle were added to God’s perfect design.

Pt. 4

One thing, in particular, comes to mind when I think about the success of any given individual in fitting the pieces of life’s puzzle together at the proper time, and in the proper manner.

The Mind of Christ

“So that we may know the things freely given to us by God.”

How much time do we, as believers, give to finding out the will of God for our lives? How much time to we give to the scriptures and prayer? How often do we ask God for wisdom? How often do we ask our Lord for the wherewithal to know the Mind of Christ at a given time in a given matter, or in our lives as a whole?

I believe the foregoing scripture is all about snapping the correct pieces of that puzzle, which represents our lives, together at the correct time, and in the correct manner; assuring that we do not subtract any pieces which do belong, and being very careful that we exclude any pieces which do not belong.

Sometimes, I marvel at how quickly time passes. There is a line in a well-known movie which refers to the passage of time. “It was only a moment ago.”

Well, my friend, it only seems like a moment ago. I think about various people, places and things among us, whom and which I have been associated over the past seventy years, as well as the choices and scenarios which have befallen me in that length of time, and I realize none of it can be relived, restored or recovered.

And almost every day which passes now, I pray a particular prayer.

“Lord, please don’t allow me to miss whatever still remains of my destiny.”

It is imperative that we get it right. It is crucial that we snap the remaining pieces of life’s puzzle together, and do it in the most excellent way possible; avoiding any pieces which don’t belong, and exercising great care that we don’t subtract any pieces which do belong.


by William McDonald, PhD. Copyright pending.

If you would like to copy, share or save, please include the line, above.